As
he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.”
Mark 5:18-19
Mark 5 [15.] They came to Jesus, and saw him who had been possessed by demons sitting, clothed, and in his right mind, even him who had the legion; and they were afraid. Those who saw it declared to them what happened to him who was possessed by demons, and about the pigs. They began to beg him to depart from their region.
Mark 5 [18.] As he was entering into the boat, he who had been possessed by demons begged him that he might be with him. He didn’t allow him, but said to him, “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.”
Mark 5 [20.] He went his way, and began to proclaim in Decapolis how Jesus had done great things for him, and everyone marveled.
Meaning:
Mark 5:18-19 records the farewell between Jesus and the man he had freed from a legion of spirits. The townspeople had just begged Jesus to leave. Now the healed man begs for something very different: to go with him. Jesus says no, but his refusal comes with a commission: “Go to your house, to your friends, and tell them what great things the Lord has done for you, and how he had mercy on you.” A man who once lived among the tombs becomes the first missionary to his own people.
- “That He Might Be With Him”
Two kinds of begging stand side by side. The crowd begged Jesus to depart (Mark 5:17); the healed man begged to stay with him. His request is the natural response of gratitude and love. He wanted to be near the one who had given him back his life.
Mark’s wording echoes the calling of the Twelve, whom Jesus appointed “that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach” (Mark 3:14). This man wanted the first part, being with Jesus. Jesus gave him the second part, being sent.
- “He Didn’t Allow Him”
Jesus’ refusal was not rejection. The man was a Gentile from a region that had just asked Jesus to leave. If he went away, no witness to Jesus would remain there. By sending him home, Jesus left a living testimony behind him in the place that had closed its doors.
There was also healing still to happen at home. The man had been cut off from family and community for a long time, living in the tombs (Luke 8:27). Returning “to your house, to your friends” meant restored relationships as well as restored health. Not every follower of Jesus is called to travel; many are called to be faithful where they already live.
- Why Tell Here, When Elsewhere Jesus Said “Tell No One”?
In Jewish Galilee Jesus often told those he healed to keep quiet, as with the leper: “See you say nothing to anybody” (Mark 1:44). There, popular excitement about a political Messiah could hinder his mission. In the Gentile Decapolis those dangers were fewer, and Jesus himself was leaving. So he commanded the opposite: tell what God has done.
- “What Great Things the Lord Has Done”
Jesus pointed the man to “the Lord,” meaning God, and to God’s mercy. In the next verse the man goes and tells “how Jesus had done great things for him” (Mark 5:20). Without contradiction he identifies the mercy of the Lord with the work of Jesus. His message was simple: what God had done for him, and the mercy he had received.
This is exactly what the psalmist urged: “Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so” (Psalm 107:2), and “don’t forget all his benefits” (Psalm 103:2).
The Significance of Mark 5:18-19
- Witness Begins at Home
Jesus’ plan for his church moves outward from home: “You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth” (Acts 1:8). Andrew, too, “first found his own brother, Simon” (John 1:41). The people who know us best are often the ones who most clearly see the change Christ makes.
- When God Says No, He Often Says Go
The man’s request was good, yet Jesus had something better for him. Believers sometimes find their plans redirected. A closed door may be God’s way of placing us where our testimony will count most. Our task is to obey gladly and to be “ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you” (1 Peter 3:15).
Cross-References:
Psalm 107:2: "Let the redeemed by Yahweh say so, whom he has redeemed from the hand of the adversary," The healed man is sent to do exactly this.
Mark 3:14: "He appointed twelve, that they might be with him, and that he might send them out to preach," Being with Jesus leads to being sent by him.
Acts 1:8: "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you. You will be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the uttermost parts of the earth." Witness begins close to home and spreads outward.
1 Peter 3:15: "But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts; and always be ready to give an answer to everyone who asks you a reason concerning the hope that is in you, with humility and fear:" Every believer can explain what God has done for him.
Conclusion: Mark 5:18-19 shows grace turning into mission. The man who longed to stay with Jesus was sent home instead, carrying a simple message of what the Lord had done and how he had shown mercy. Every believer has the same story to tell, and often the best place to begin telling it is among family and friends.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible